Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Oasis '09 Recap

Wow! Just got back in from our first ever Oasis summer camp with the Ingleside student ministry. What an incredible time!
Josh Via led worship along with an outstanding group of guys (tim, andy, nate, and Josh's wife Tasha :). The times of singing and praising were amazing. Our students connected with them from the very first strum until the last set of camp. If you are a youth pastor reading this, you absolutely have to bring in these guys! You will not be disappointed. They were ministry focused, and they loved on our students and leaders.
Bill Stanley brought the Word each morning and evening. Bill is a beast (6'8" - ??? lbs.). Bill connected with our students and spoke truth into their lives. He made an impact on our students. Bill is a great guy to serve with, and he did a great job as our camp speaker.
We also had Tenth Avenue North come for a concert. You may not have heard these guys yet - but they just received a Dove award for best new Christian artists. If you have a Christian radio station like K-love, you probably hear "By Your Side" every hour or so. These guys were some of the most humble and caring people I've ever met in the ministry. They were unassuming, and they absolutely demonstrated the attitude of Christ. The concert was great!
For me, there were many great moments of camp. The morning celebrations were fun, the afernoon recreation was awesome (led by our Executive Pastor Riley), the family group times were so great (30 leaders pouring into our students' lives), the worship sessions were outstanding and worship-filled, the late night was histerical (led by Justin and Philip - or "Bart" and "Lance"), fishing in the morning with my guys was enjoyable - and tiring, and the beach and resort were exellent. Still, the highlight of camp for me was the salvation of one of our students. God truly made him a new creation, and changed his heart.
Thank you Lord for doing something only you can do.

1 comment:

The Via Colony said...

It was an AWESOME weekend. Thanks for letting us get to know your students better and be involved with such a special time=)